What does the soul and R&B band play?

Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, The Temptations and the Motown songbook, sung out front, with a horn on the big choruses. These are the songs a whole ballroom knows the words to across three generations, which is why this is the band for the floor after a program.

Which events book a soul band?

Office holiday parties, the second half of a gala once the last award is given, conference and company after-parties, milestone birthdays, and wedding receptions where the couple wants everyone up rather than a playlist. It's a dance floor act with a dinner set in it, so it can also carry a whole evening on its own.

The quartet is the smallest build: a singer, keys, bass and drums, in 14 by 10 feet on two dedicated 20-amp circuits with a 90-minute load-in. The five to six piece adds guitar and a horn, and that's the version that sounds most like the records and carries a ballroom past two hundred.

It's a dance floor act, and it runs at the level your venue allows. Before the floor opens the same band plays a dinner set at conversation volume, 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table. If your venue has a decibel limit, give us the number and we'll build the set under it.

Can it follow another act, or hand off to the DJ?

Yes. It's often the second half of a night that opened with a jazz duo or a solo pianist through drinks and dinner, on the same contract and the same sound system, and when the night runs past the band the DJ takes over the same way.

Soul and R&B band

A soul and R&B band for holiday parties, galas and wedding receptions.

Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Bill Withers and the Motown songbook, sung out front with a horn on the big choruses. Book it as the dance floor act for a holiday party, for the second half of a gala, or for a wedding reception where the couple wants everyone up.

Every variety band in Colorado carries Motown and soul as one layer of its set. This is that layer sold as the whole night: a singer who can carry Aretha, a horn that takes the lines the records gave it, and a rhythm section that plays dinner at conversation volume and then opens the floor.

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Footage slot

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The set

A sample of the set.

Think Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Respect, Let’s Stay Together and Lean on Me. The set runs from Sam Cooke and Otis Redding through Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye to the Motown catalogue, with the newer songs that sit beside them, Amy Winehouse and Leon Bridges, for a crowd that spans three generations.

A set is built around the flow of your evening. Through dinner the singer takes the ballads at a volume the table talks across, and once the floor opens the horn comes out front and the songs get longer, because a soul chorus is built to be sung back. The songs above that are on the site’s own list are searchable on the repertoire page, and the first learned song is included in every booking. The same songwriters without a singer, groove first, is the funk band.

Configurations

The quartet, and the full band with a horn.

The quartet: A singer, keys, bass and drums. The singer is the band here, and keys cover the horn lines and the guitar parts on the smaller build. It’s the size for a company party of eighty to two hundred or a wedding reception in a restaurant, and it takes 14 by 10 feet, two dedicated 20-amp circuits and a 90-minute load-in.
Five to six piece: The quartet plus guitar and a horn, and a second voice when the crowd is past two hundred or the venue is a ballroom. This is the version that sounds most like the records, with the horn taking the lines on the choruses and the guitar freeing the keys to play what keys played on those sessions.

Either configuration plays dinner at 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table before the floor opens. An announcement microphone is ready for the remarks and the thank-yous, and the band goes silent on the emcee’s cue when there’s a program in the evening.

Footprints and power by size are on the technical page. When the night should keep going after the band, the DJ takes the same sound system on the same contract.

Occasions

Common occasions for a soul and R&B band.

Office holiday parties: The dance floor act for a company party in a hotel ballroom, with a dinner set first and the floor after the program. The holiday party page carries the season’s dates and the ballroom logistics, and office holiday party entertainment ideas puts this band beside the other builds a party can take.
The floor after the last award: A gala has a program in it, and this is the band for the hour when the program is over and the tables empty onto the floor. The galas and award nights page covers the evening before that hour, and the after-party page covers the hour itself.
Wedding receptions: For the couple who wants a band on the floor rather than a playlist, with a first dance the band learns for the night. The weddings page walks through the ceremony and the cocktail hour that come before it, on the same contract.
Milestone birthdays: A fiftieth or a sixtieth for a crowd that grew up on these records, at a club or a restaurant buyout. Private parties covers the sizes and the venues, and the anniversary page the version with the couple’s song in it.

Booking it

The whole evening, or the floor after the program.

The band books for the full night or for the set after dinner, and pairs with a jazz duo or the solo guitarist through drinks on the same contract.

Sound support that’s the right size for the venue is included, and a singer in a ballroom is where that matters most: the voice has to reach the back tables without the band being loud at the front ones. When there are remarks in the evening, we plan the sets around them with you so the music stops before the emcee reaches the microphone. If the night runs long, another half hour is easy to add on the night.

Send the date, the venue and the headcount, and we’ll come back with a recommendation on configuration. What live music costs in this market.

Soul and R&B band questions

The operational questions, from substitutions to decibel caps, are on the full question list.

What does the soul and R&B band play?: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, The Temptations and the Motown songbook, sung out front, with a horn on the big choruses. These are the songs a whole ballroom knows the words to across three generations, which is why this is the band for the floor after a program.
Which events book a soul band?: Office holiday parties, the second half of a gala once the last award is given, conference and company after-parties, milestone birthdays, and wedding receptions where the couple wants everyone up rather than a playlist. It's a dance floor act with a dinner set in it, so it can also carry a whole evening on its own.
How big is the band?: The quartet is the smallest build: a singer, keys, bass and drums, in 14 by 10 feet on two dedicated 20-amp circuits with a 90-minute load-in. The five to six piece adds guitar and a horn, and that's the version that sounds most like the records and carries a ballroom past two hundred.
How loud is it?: It's a dance floor act, and it runs at the level your venue allows. Before the floor opens the same band plays a dinner set at conversation volume, 65 to 72 dBA at the nearest table. If your venue has a decibel limit, give us the number and we'll build the set under it.
Can it follow another act, or hand off to the DJ?: Yes. It's often the second half of a night that opened with a jazz duo or a solo pianist through drinks and dinner, on the same contract and the same sound system, and when the night runs past the band the DJ takes over the same way.

Book the soul and R&B band for the floor after the program.

Live music for your event, from a solo musician to a full band, with sound support that’s the right size for the venue and a personal contact for the night.

Check a Date

Send us the date and the venue, and we’ll come back with a recommendation and a price for your night. What live music costs in this market is on the pricing page.

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